• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.21 no.2 s.53
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• pp.93-102
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• 2006

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), an octane booster that is added to the reformulated gasoline, has been a widespread contaminant in aquatic ecosystem. MTBE is a recalcitrant pollutant having low biodegradability. Due to its higher water solubility and low octanol-water partition coefficient, it can be rapidly transported to the surrounding water environment. Also, MTBE is a known animal carcinogen, and is classified as a possible human carcinogen by U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. The adverse effect of MTBE to aquatic biota was widely reported. In Korea, the recent detection of MTBE in groundwater near gasoline filling stations has drawn concern to public health and ecosystem. To address this concern, the effect of MTBE to human health and ecosystem was discussed in this review. Also, ecotoxicity data of MTBE for fish, invertebrates, and algae were extensively compared to estimate the hazard concentration 5($HC_5$) of MTBE as a screening level.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.686-693
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• 2012

The seaweed community and stomach contents of the dominant herbivorous sea urchins Anthocidaris crassispina and Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus were examined from November 2008 to October 2009, in coastal areas of Tongyeong, Korea. Thirty-five seaweeds including two green, nine brown, and 24 red algae, were found over the study period. Seventeen seaweeds (two green, two brown, and 13 red) and two invertebrates were found in the stomachs of A. crassispina. In H. pulcherrimus, stomach contents were two green, one brown, 11 red seaweeds, and two invertebrates. The shell diameter of A. crassispina and H. pulcherrimus ranged from 22.3 to 62.3 mm and 15.3 to 40.1 mm, respectively. Total body weights ranged from 48.5 to 86.7 g for A. crassispina and from 7.7 to 25.9 g for H. pulcherrimus. The total weight of stomach contents were 5.1 to 25.8 g in A. crassispina and 1.7 to 11.8 g in H. pulcherrimus. The range of gonad weight was 3.6 to 17.0 g in A. crassispina and 0.8 to 4.0 g in H. pulcherrimus. The gonad index (GI) for A. crassispina peaked in July and reached a minimum in December, whereas the GI for H. pulcherrimus was highest in February, and lowest in May.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.160-168
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• 2021

Doublesex and mab-3 related transcription factor(dmrt) play crucial roles in sex determination and sex differentiation in vertebrates and invertebrates. Although dmrt genes have been identified in vertebrates, little is known about aquatic invertebrates. In this study, two dmrt genes, namely, Dc_dmrt93B and Dc_dmrt99B, were identified from brackish water flea, Diaphanosoma celebensis. Transcriptional changes were observed in the dmrt genes when the flea was exposed to bisphenol(BP), an endocrine disruptor. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses showed that both dmrt genes contained two conserved domains, namely, DM and DMA, closely clustered with those of Daphnia spp. Additionally, a significant increase in the Dc_dmrt99B mRNA expression level was observed upon exposure to intermediate concentrations of BP (bisphenol A>bisphenol S=bisphenol F, p<0.05), while the expression of Dc_dmrt93B mRNA was slightly modulated. These findings imply that the two dmrt genes may be involved in sex differentiation of D. celebensis. Furthermore, it was found that the ability of BP to modulate dmrt genes could affect development and reproduction. This study provides a basis for understanding the function of the dmrt genes and the molecular mode of action of BP in small crustaceans.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.497-504
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• 2006

Biodiversity is closely related to the conservation of ecosystems. Ecosystems provide more subtle, but equally essential, services. Microorganisms decompose human's waste and renew the soils that produce our food crops. Biodiversity in Korean paddies encompass 54 families and 107 species of freshwater invertebrates. In terms of the number of aquatic insects affected by different sources, the order starting with the highest population was swine slurry > chemical fertilizer > fresh straw with reduced fertilizers > control. The number of freshwater invertebrate and aquatic macro-invertebrate in surface water of the plots without insecticidal application were 2 and 2.1 times greater than in fields receiving insecticide applications, respectively. The soil microfungal flora of the 85 isolates paddy fields in Korea was 30 species in 13 genera and 11 isolates were unidentified yet. Agricultural policy should be changed to assist the conservation of biodiversity because until now the agricultural ecosystems have been negatively affected from the development of high-yield varieties to enhance food production, and the expansion of fertilizer and chemical use. For the conservation of agricultural ecosystems, agricultural practices with less investment and more resource saving, as well as enhancing the safety of agricultural and livestock products are essential. Finally, this paper was written for the contribution for the development of environmentally friendly farming systems with neighboring or whole ecosystems.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.2-8
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• 2021

Dimethachlor is a synthetic herbicide, belonging to the chloroacetanilide group, that inhibits the undesirable growth of weeds via the suppression of very long-chain fatty acid synthesis. Although dimethachlor has been shown to run off from agricultural fields into aquatic ecosystems, the toxicity of dimethachlor on aquatic invertebrates and vertebrates is unknown. In our study, we assessed the toxicity of dimethachlor on developing zebrafish embryos by analyzing viability, hatching ability, and phenotypic changes. Embryonic viability decreased from 48 h post-fertilization (hpf) at the highest concentration of dimethachlor. Decreased hatching ratio, shortened body length, and pathological changes in the eye, heart, and yolk sac were observed at sub-lethal concentrations. Additionally, dimethachlor increased the number of apoptotic cells and level of reactive oxygen species 120 hpf. Our results indicate that dimethachlor may act as an anti-developmental toxicant when accumulated in an aquatic environment.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.293-297
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• 2010

To prevent amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) resulting from the consumption of shellfish contaminated with domoic acid, the quantitative analysis of domoic acid is very important. We validated a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for accurate and precise quantification of domoic acid. A clear peak and the isolation of domoic acid resulted on injecting a 50% methanol extract of CRM-ASP-Mus-c mussel reference material using HPLC. The limit of detection of domoic acid under the established HPLC conditions was $0.10\;{\mu}g/g$, and the limit of quantification of the toxin under the same conditions was $0.25\;{\mu}g/g$. The intra-accuracy and precision for domoic acid in CRM-ASP-Mus-c were 90.7-95.7% and 0.28-22.25%, respectively. The inter-accuracy and precision for domoic acid were 89.1-97.1% and 1.7-4.1%, respectively. The mean recovery of domoic acid in methanol extracts from ten species of marine invertebrates was 88.6-1105.1%.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.28.1-28.17
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• 2017

Members of the phylum Echinodermata, commonly known as echinoderms, are exclusively marine invertebrates. Among the Echinodermata, sea cucumber belongs to the family Holothuroidea. The sea cucumber Stichopus (Apostichous) japonicus (Selenka) is an invertebrate animal inhabiting the coastal sea around Korean, Japan, China, and Russia. Sea cucumber has a significant commercial value, because it contains valuable nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. They possess a number of distinctive biologically and pharmacologically important compounds. In particular, the body wall of sea cucumber is a major edible part. It consists of peptide, collagen, gelatin, polysaccharide, and saponin, which possess several biological activities such as anti-cancer, anti-coagulation, anti-oxidation, and anti-osteoclastogenesis. Furthermore, the regenerative capacity of sea cucumber makes it a medically important organism. This review presents the various biological activities and biomedical potential of sea cucumber S. japonicus.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.469-473
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• 2003

Transplantation of Sargassum horneri to natural substrate using the rope seeding method was undertaken. Seeding of S. horneri was grown on net in an indoor tank up to 0.2-0.3 cm in frond length for 2 months, and then transplanted to an architecture tile $(10\times10\;cm)$ with underwater glue and an iron pipe. After two months, number of S. horneri on the tile decreased because of grazing by herbivores. However, S. horneri on the iron pipe grew up to 0.5-2.0 cm in frond length. After 7 months, they rapidly grew up to a frond length of 11.0-203.0 cm with a mean frond length of 122.6 cm. S. horneri grew up to a maximum frond length of 313.0 cm, and mean frond length of 228.0 cm, after 10 months. The artificial S. hornevi beds can be used to clean the seawater and also be utilized as a source of marine biomass as well as for supplying habitat, shelter and spawning beds for fish and invertebrates.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.275-290
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• 2014

The marine ecosystem represents a vast and dynamic array of bio-resources attributed with its huge diversity and considered as potential untapped reservoirs for the development of functional foods for future health markets. Basically, marine microorganisms, sponges, algae, invertebrates such as crustaceans and mollusks along with marine fish species can be considered as marine bio-resources, which can be utilized to obtain different health benefits for humans, directly or after processing. Most of the bio-molecular components, such as lipids and proteins from these marine bio-resources, which can be extracted in large scale using the modern and advanced biotechnological approaches, are suitable drug candidates for the pharmaceutical industry as well as functional food ingredients for the food industry. Moreover, the furtherance of high throughput molecular biological techniques has already been incorporated with identification, mining and extraction of molecular components from marine bio-resources. In this review, potential marine bio-resources with respect to their extractable bio-molecules were described in details, while explaining the present and prospective methods of identification and extraction, which are integrated with advanced techniques in modern biotechnology. In addition, this provides an overview of future trends in marine biotechnology.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.665-671
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• 2005

Initiation and activation of sperm motility are prerequisite processes for the contact and fusion of male and female gametes at fertilization. The phenomena are under the regulation of cAMP and $Ca^{2+}$ in vertebrates and invertebrates. Mammalian sperm requires $Ca^{2+}$ and cAMP for the activation of sperm motility. Cell signaling for the initiation and activation of sperm motility in the ascidians and salmonid fishes has drawn much attention. In the ascidians, the sperm-activating and attracting factors from unfertilized egg require extracellular $Ca^{2+}$ for activating sperm motility and eliciting chemotactic behavior toward the egg. On the other hand, the cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of protein is essential for the initiation of sperm motility in salmonid fishes. A decrease of the environmental $K^+$ concentration surrounding the spawned sperm causes $K^+$ efflux and $Ca^{2+}$ influx through the specific $K^+$ channel and dihydropyridine-sensitive L-/T-type $Ca^{2+}$ channel, respectively, thereby leading to the membrane hyperpolarization. The membrane hyperpolarization induces synthesis of cAMP, which triggers further cell signaling processes, such as cAMP-dependent protein phosphorylation, to initiate sperm motility in salmonid fishes. This article reviews the studies on the physiological mechanisms of sperm motility and its cell signaling in aquatic species.